Urban Engines was founded by ex-Googlers and a Stanford professor, so it definitely has some Silicon Valley times, according to TechCrunch. The company uses algorithms and data from public transit to study congestion patterns and can give solutions to cities and commuters. Data is taken from swiped cards or tokens on public transit and then used to determine crowding, wait times and congestion. Already the company has partnered with World Bank, Washington, D.C's Metro system and Sao Paolo, Brazil. The amount of the investment wasn't disclosed.

Essentially this information can make cities and other local governments make better transportation planning decisions, but the software can be used to give commuters incentives to travel at less crowded times, according to Quartz. Riders could sign up for a program and get credit for riding at off hours or receive alerts when the transportation is at peak congestion, and the developers hope cities use this feature.

Urban Engines isn't really a fun app, but more software that can be used to help city and urban planners create a congestion-free future. However the real change will be when employers decide that employees don't have to work an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. day.